The Irish standard., 1887-06-18
ARCHBISHOP WALSH SpEAKSI
At Carlow College on the Crimes Act
and Coercion---His Own Protest
a Most Forcible One.
t;ALUMNIES AND F0RGERIES,

That Fabrication About the Irish Col
lege---Dr, Kirby's 1ndig-
nant Denial.
The most reverend chief Of the see of
Dublin was in Carlow OH the 23d ult.,
and met with a grand reception. At
st. Patrick's College, Carlow, he replied
as follows to q spirited address that
welcomed him as archbishop and pa
5rioc. He said, after returning thanks
20 the faculty and students, who gave
aim a mighty hurrah when he spoke or
he Home Rule struggle: II cannot
content myself with merely thanking
gou. There are topics, there is espec-
ally one topic, introduced into your
address, which it would be unpardon-
sble Of me- speaking here publicly at
,his most critical juncture in the affairs
of our country, if L were TO pass it by
,n silence. In your address you pro-
test against coercion, against that un-
wise, 5llat irritating, that misch!evons
code Of law by which it is now proposed
90 shut you out and to shut out all OF
is, your neighbors, your priests, your
bishops, and to shut us out, not for
year OF tor Il term Of years, but, SO far
As an act Of Parliament can have per-
petuitY. to shut us out, as it has been
well said, for ever and ever, from the
enjoyment Of those common constitu-
gional rights which in theory-but
nenceforth il, Ireland it is to be III
theory on}y--are the inheritance and
the possession Of every subject OF the
crown. You protest-you protest with
indjgnation-agai the enactment Of
this ruinously suDyersive law. lou
may take ME as adding my protest my
indignant protest-to yours. lit may,
perhaps, crafty you to hear from me
that before | had read the reference to
this subject in your address, was we'll
aware Of the stainless recOrd~-a record
free from every vestige, nay, from every
suspicion, Of exceptional criiuinalltY.
presented by your p 'acefnl county at
the late assiZes. ut a recent meeting
Of the standing committee Of the Irish
bishops. resolutions strong 30 doubt in
substance, but moderate, I need hardly
ado. in tone, were adopted iii protest
against the coming coerciva code. In
one Of these resolutions we bore testl-
monv--testimouy which none. should
hope. will venture to deny Oh, capacity
to besr-as to the freedom the present
almost unprecedented freedom-~of this
country not only from grave crime and
outrage. hut from ordinary offences
against the law: and in support Of our
own testimony we appealed to the of1i-
cial statements made throughout Ire
land at the recent assizes by her maJes-
ty's Judges. Here are the words of Our
resolution: That speaking with init
mate knowledge of our respective do
ceses and provinces, we confidently As
sert that, with the deplorable excep-
tiou OF Il few notorious districts Of very
limited extent, Ireland is singu]arly
y ae not only from grave crime and out
.ara. but from ordinary otfenses against
tie law; and III this assertion we are
fully sustained by the charges delivered
at the recent assizes by her majesty's
Judges" Now it was suggested by one
distinguished member Of our body that
it would not be out of place for us to
publish, as an appendix to our resolu-
tions, all those passages. occurring III
any of the charges OF the judges, IN
which any reference was made TO the
presence or absence of serious crime in
any part Of Ireland. 1t can be no
breach of confidence for me to say that
the task Of bringing together this for
midable array Of judicial testimony de-
volYed upon myself. The work Ut COM
piljng it has made me, then, ably
we'll acquainted with the existing state
of things in this respect throughout the
country. The document, to say the
least of it, IT full Of instruction. l
have it here. Let me read you sen.
tence or two from the charge delivered
here in Carlow by the presiding judge,
that upright and fearless magistrate,
Mr.. Baron Dowse. .sGentlemen OF the
grand jury Of the County of Carlow
{said his lordship.) / am happy TO be
able to say that the number OF cases to
90 before YOU is very small. The en-
tire cases are six in number. Two are
Of Importance, but on the whole they
shcw nothing disparaging to the pro-
verbal pc ce Of your county. 1t IS
very extraordinary fact that the cases
reported to the police are only Six, SO
that practically the bills to go before
you represent the entire. | never was
in countv where a more satisfactory
state of things exists. If 1t be true.
as said. thata country is happy that has
no history. the County Carlow must be
happy, because 1t has no criminal his
+nrv,, And 81 m from county to